


when the air ran out and we both started running wild

by dragmeddown



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High School, M/M, Narry - Freeform, Party, Pining Niall, and some making out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-16 00:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5805613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragmeddown/pseuds/dragmeddown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quick Narry one-shot where they go to a high school winter formal together, Niall has a crush on Harry. Friends to lovers. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the air ran out and we both started running wild

Niall paced around his room nervously. It was quarter to seven on a Saturday and his school’s senior winter formal was tonight. 

He had spent the entire day in sweatpants, lounging around and enjoying the weekend. He had, however, managed to take a shower in the morning and wash his hair. He had gotten his suit well in advance. He had seen it in a shop for a fantastic bargain, but had it tailored after buying - he wanted it to fit just right. 

He had only changed out of the sweatpants half an hour ago, but he had been very quick. Niall had on a dark blue suit, with a plain white shirt underneath and a baby blue tie fastened around his neck. He had decided to leave his hair alone, and was quite pleased with how it had turned out post-shower, with just a touch of wax in it. He inspected it in the mirror, and decided that it was satisfactory.

The main reason that Niall was nervous was that Harry was coming to pick him up. They had arranged to have Harry meet Niall at his place and then drive to the venue together; Harry had just gotten his licence the other week, after turning 18. Harry was meant to be at his house in fifteen minutes’ time.

Niall had thought that getting ready about an hour before would leave some leeway for mishaps, but there hadn’t been any and now he was at a loss for what to do. He kept pacing in his room, tried picking up his guitar and playing but found that it did nothing to calm him down. He had picked out his geometric print socks for the night. He rubbed his hands together, patted lightly at his hair, pulled at his collar.He cursed himself for being so early in a whisper. He was going to sweat right through the suit, waiting for Harry to turn up. 

He turned off the ceiling light in the room, leaving just the Jupiter lamp on his bedside table on. He sat down on his bed, carefully, trying not to wrinkle the suit. He sat he and looked up at the glow-in-the-dark stars that he had stuck to the ceiling with blu tack. They glowed so brightly, and he lost himself for a moment, eyes unfocusing and breathing slowing down. He stared up at the stars and let them calm him down. He was going to be just fine, even though the butterflies were on the aggressive side tonight.

He jogged down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen. He took a piece of gum from the cabinet on the wall and chewed it, glancing quickly out of the window into the street, hoping that Harry would just turn up already. 

“Oh, Niall.”

His mother had appeared and was leaning in the doorway. She was beaming, smiling at her son who looked so handsome.

“Come here, your tie is lopsided,” she fussed, straightening the offending tie and brushing his shoulders. Niall’s cheeks reddened, but he let her; he didn’t mind, not that much. He took his place next to the kitchen window, which overlooked the street. It was 7 now, and Harry’s wasn’t due to arrive for another fifteen minutes, but Niall had nothing better to do.

He scrolled through his Twitter, his Instagram, checked his Snapchat, scrolled through Twitter again, just to pass the time. His mother stood quietly by him, and they both started every time a car came around the corner; it was never Harry’s. 

It is safe to say that Niall had a crush on Harry. They had been friends since the beginning of secondary school, and now they were in their final year before university. Niall’s feelings for him had probably cropped up around a year ago, which Niall knew was a weirdly long time to be harbouring feelings for this best friend, but it wasn’t enough to motivate him to actually tell Harry about it. That thought terrified him more than anything, which was why he hadn’t told anybody about it. Except for his mother, indirectly. He wasn’t even sure what had made these feeling pop out of nowhere, but here they were, making things just that little bit more difficult for him.

“When did you say Harry was coming?” his mother asked tentatively.

“Quarter past, mum, quarter past,” Niall said quietly, keeping his eyes down on his phone, not wanting to give too much away. He had mentioned _a_ crush to his mother, briefly, when he had come out to her as bisexual about six months ago, but he had never specified that it was Harry. Harry, who had at 11 years of age had tried to melt gummy bears in the Horan family microwave but had forgotten that plastic cups couldn’t go in there, leaving Niall with some explaining to do. Harry, who had convinced Niall that he could juggle using raw eggs (he couldn’t). Harry the all-around troublemaker. Harry, his best friend. 

Niall’s mum touched his arm, and he looked up; Harry had just pulled up on the street by their house. Niall suddenly became conscious of the fact that he wasn’t wearing his shoes. And that they were upstairs in his room. And that Harry was already getting out of his car. And that he was going to make it to the door and that his mum was going to invite him inside and that she was going to make them take pictures together. And that he had to get to the door because Harry was already walking up the path leading up to the front door.

Niall opened the door just as Harry pressed the doorbell.

“Hi!” Niall said breathlessly over Harry’s apologies for ringing, “I’ve got to get me shoes, but I’ll be down in two ticks,” he mumbled as he ushered Harry inside. “Mum will keep you company,” he said as his mother waved at Harry.

“Alright, don’t rush, wouldn’t want you slipping down the stairs or anything,” Harry quipped effortlessly as he stepped inside. “Nice socks, by the way!” Niall heard him shout as he raced up the stairs, two at a time. He burst into his room, flicked on the lights and grabbed the shoes. He sat down onto his bed to pull them on hurriedly.

“Oh, pull it together, Niall,” he told himself quietly as he pulled on the shoes, tying the laces as best he could with his stupidly shaky hands.

“Niall?” came a voice from the doorway. Niall’s head snapped up. Harry was stood there, and he was holding a small bouquet of flowers. Niall hadn’t noticed in his flurry of stress and nerves before, but Harry looked very nice. He had gone for a slightly daring look - classic Harry. He had on a black suit with thin vertical red lines, and a black shirt underneath. He was wearing basic black dress shoes, and his hair was arranged just so; the loose curls grazing his shoulders, with the frontal section pushed back. Niall lost his train of thought as he took this all in, still trying to tie his shoes but failing, his fingers flailing. 

“Where’d you get that?” Niall asked, trying to seem at ease despite the fact that the only thing going through his head right now was _he looks so cute where did he get those flowers why does he have them are they for me did Harry bring me flowers?_

“Oh, I, um, I dropped by the florist’s, just before I came here,” Harry smiled, “I wanted to...I don’t know. I just thought it’d be sweet.”

“It…” Niall hesitated, because what on earth was he supposed to say? This was the stuff that rom-coms are made of, this isn’t supposed to happen in real life. “It is, Harry, it’s nice. They’re perfect, thank you,” he smiled, getting up now and accepting the blue and yellow arrangement of flowers, wrapped in brown paper.

“Now, let’s get back downstairs so that I can put these in a vase, and we can get going,” Niall said, making for the stairs.

“Wait! Niall!” Harry stopped him and pulled him backwards. “Your shoe isn’t tied,” and before Niall knew it, Harry had crouched down and was tying the laces of the shoe that he had abandoned. 

“Thanks, Harry,” Niall muttered, cheeks reddening. He fanned himself ever so slightly, trying not to let Harry notice.

Usually, Niall wasn’t this tense around Harry. He had pretty much mastered the art of nonchalance over the past year, and was quite proud of himself for it. This, however, was totally different. First of all, Harry looked mind-blowingly good in his suit. Not that he didn’t look good otherwise, but he looked especially good tonight. Secondly, he was picking Niall up, much like a date might do, although they had agreed to do this just because Niall’s parents’ car was at the mechanic’s this week and he didn’t want to walk to the venue because it was cold and wet outside and he might ruin his suit. Really, this had been more of a practicality measure than anything else, and _it absolutely did not mean anything_ , Niall had told himself again and again. But now, Harry had brought him flowers which had kind of thrown this whole thing off balance. 

“There,” Harry grinned as he got up and patted Niall on the back, “shall we?” he asked, motioning at the stairs.

“Niall! Harry! Hurry up, I want pictures before you two leave, but you’re going to be late if you don’t get going soon!” Niall heard his mother call from downstairs.

“We’re coming, Maura, get the camera ready,” Harry laughed as he thundered down the stairs, Niall right behind him.

“Mum, can we put Harry’s flowers in a vase?” Niall asked when they got back into the kitchen.

“Oh! Yes, yes of course, hold on,” his mother answered. She rummaged through one of the cupboards and pulled out a glass vase. “This’ll do nicely,” she decided, taking the flowers from Niall and placing them inside, running some water from the tap into the vase. “Lovely flowers, Harry,” she smiled, almost knowingly. 

“Alright now, let’s do this, stand just there,” Niall’s mother ushered them into the hallway, right underneath the light. “Ok boys, big smiles! Look as though you’re happy to be going, Niall, would you please,” she huffed as Niall cringed a little at his mother’s enthusiasm. 

“Come on Niall, be a doll,” Harry laughed as he put his arm around Niall’s shoulders and poked him in the side, making him laugh too. The shutter went off. 

“Oh, that’s a lovely photo, one for the albums,” Niall’s mother trilled, “come, come have a look.”

Niall’s breath caught in his throat. The photo was perfect in every way. The lighting was just right, and he and Harry looked so happy together. _Not ‘together’ like that, jeez Niall_ , he reprimanded himself. Harry’s arm was slung so effortlessly around Niall’s slightly shorter self, and Niall was smiling, looking at Harry, while Harry was looking down slightly but grinning all the same. 

“Yes, mum, lovely, can we go now?” Niall asked, pulling on Harry’s sleeve and directing them to the front door. 

“Yes, yes, have a lovely time boys, drive safely,” she smiled, looking up from the photo and giving Niall a look; a questioning one mixed with a little surprise. Niall ushered Harry out of the door first, and turned to look again at his mother. He cocked his head slightly as if to say “yeah, that’s the crush”.

“Try to get home by 12, Niall,” his mother said quietly, “so your father doesn’t have to wait for too long. He’s working the long shift today.”

“Gotcha, mum, I’ll aim for 12, love you,” Niall promised before heading out after Harry. 

It was drizzling, and Harry turned on the wipers as soon as they got inside the car. 

“You pick the music,” Harry said, handing Niall the AUX cord as he pulled away from the pavement. Niall put on some Eagles and they drove in comfortable silence.

_20 minutes later_

Niall and Harry were stood in the foyer of the very swanky hotel, champagne flutes in hand. Not that they actually contained champagne - the school refused to provide alcohol for the formal. It was sparkling apple cider, but they sipped it sophisticatedly, joking with their friends as they waited for the large doors to the dining room to open. 

As soon as had they arrived, Niall’s nerves had vanished. There were so many people - most, if not all of the seniors in their school were going to be there, plus a couple of juniors who were only allowed in as dates. Large parties really were the most intimate ones. There was an excited buzz in the room as more people arrived and people fawned over how different everyone looked in formal attire. 

Niall couldn’t help but notice all of the couples in the room, standing near one another, talking to others but being there for each other when the conversation waned, carrying on with their own jokes. He looked up at Harry, who was talking animatedly to their friend Liam about something, and smiled, because Harry looked so handsome and he was so happy to be here with him.

_No, Niall, not ‘with’ him with him_ , he disciplined himself as he took a sip of apple cider. 

Dinner passed without a hitch. The five of them were seated at the same table - Niall, Harry, Liam, Louis, and Zayn. Niall was sat between Zayn and Harry, which made for some hilarious conversation over dinner.

Dinner, the part of the evening that Niall was most excited about, was pasta with shrimp sauce, followed by a small steak and roast potatoes. Niall’s favorite part of the meal, dessert, was the best by far - a trio of chocolate mousses, dark, milk, and white chocolate. Niall finished his at record speed and even offered to help one of the girls at the neighboring table who just couldn’t finish hers. 

It was stiflingly hot in the dining room, probably due to the sheer number of people inside. It didn’t help that Niall couldn’t seem to locate any air vents in the entire room. He could feel his ears getting hotter, and he downed more and more water in an effort to keep himself from completely burning up.

“Niall,” Harry leaned over to say quietly, “you hot?”

“Yeah, just a little,” Niall laughed tersely.

“Soon as we get out of here, let’s get outside for a second, yeah? It’s so hot in here…” Harry muttered, pulling at his collar and fanning himself with his napkin. 

As soon as the dessert plates were cleared away and the students were allowed to leave the table, Harry grabbed Niall’s hand and led him outside, ahead of the main throng of people. He pushed through the glass doors leading to the smoking area in the back of the building. Thankfully, the smokers hadn’t arrived yet, and the evening air was still clear and cold. The drizzle had also stopped. 

“Oh, that’s...that’s amazing,” Harry said loudly as he lifted his arms to his sides and allowed the cold breeze to blow. “Try it Niall, hold your arms out like this, really let the air in,” he said, looking over at Niall.

Niall obeyed, and soon found himself in a giggling fit over how silly they must look right now. Harry joined in, and they cackled away.

“Harry,” Niall finally choked out, “does the dancing start now?”

Dancing was the part of the evening that Niall was most nervous about. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dancing, but he felt that he wasn’t exactly a natural. He was a little awkward about it; he wasn’t sure what to do out there. He knew by observing others at previous parties that it was definitely easier when you were drunk. However, since they were very much sober right now, he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He felt like everybody was watching, that everybody could see him, that everybody was laughing at him. Which he knew was completely irrational, but that didn’t stop him from thinking it.

He let Harry lead him out to the edge of the dance floor, to start things off slow. The song that was playing didn’t ring any bells to Niall, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Niall found Zayn, also erring on the edge of the dance floor, and stayed there with him while Harry ventured out into the middle to dance with some of the girls there.

Niall felt a little pang of jealousy. He hated it when feelings like this came to him - he had no right to feel entitled to Harry, none at all, and he viciously stamped it out as soon as it surfaced. Harry had every right to be dancing with whoever he pleases, since Niall definitely wasn’t the life of the party anyhow. He was allowed to have fun, too. 

The next song that came on was ‘Uptown Funk’, one of Niall’s favorites. And Zayn’s too, judging from his excited yelp. He grabbed Niall’s shoulders and steered him into the middle.

They found Liam along the way. The three of them formed a small circle and danced. Niall felt comfortable here, in the middle of the dance floor, as much as that surprised him. Nobody was watching him, everybody was too preoccupied in whatever they were up to. He allowed himself to move with the music, miming playing the drums at the right moments and busting out all of his best horrible dance moves. Zayn and Liam did the same, and they lost track of time as one song meshed into the next and they kept on laughing and dancing, joining a conga line at one point.

After a long while, Niall needed a breather. He pushed through the crowd back to the edge where he came from and over to the open bar. He got himself a Sprite and leaned on one of the high lounge tables, sipping it in the glow of the multicoloured disco lights. 

Suddenly, he felt a hand at his waist, and looked over his shoulder. It was Harry, who leaned his chin on Niall’s shoulder to get his mouth as close to his ear so that he could actually hear him.

“Heyy, Niall,” he said loudly, “you alright?”

“Fine, Harry,” Niall replied, holding up his can of Sprite. “Want a sip?”

“Thanks,” Harry smiled as he reached for the can. “It seems like either somebody brought vodka in their purse, or they,” he pointed at the group of people who were being exceptionally loud on the dance floor, near the DJ booth, “are very good at acting horrendously drunk,” he laughed, taking a sip of the Sprite.

“Probably the former, I’m sure somebody must have brought booze,” Niall reasoned. Niall’s heart rate skyrocketed as he felt his hand brush Harry’s briefly, but the contact was lost.

“Wanna dance?” Harry asked suddenly. Niall gave him a questioning look, raising an eyebrow.

“Come oooooon, Niall,” Harry whined as took Niall’s hand in his and pulled him playfully, “just one song, come on!”

Niall allowed himself to be pulled by Harry, enjoying the hand-holding that was going on here. Harry pulled him through people dancing, couples making out, and the drunk crowd, before settling in a nice spot full of some of their semi-acquaintances.

Niall was finding it hard to relax. He was pushed fairly close to Harry, and he couldn’t seem to get himself hyped like he had with Liam and Zayn earlier. Harry was living it, moving freely in time with the music, looking, to Niall, absolutely ethereal in the blue and pink neon lights. Niall closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing.

He felt something brush his hand. Before he had time to open his eyes, somebody was holding it and grabbing for the other one. And it just so happened to be Harry.

“Come on Niall,” he yelled over the music as his hand found Niall’s other free one and grabbed onto it. He and Niall danced together after that, just the two of them, Harry twirling Niall around and laughing uncontrollably. The song changed to ‘Dancing Queen’, and Niall knew that he was going to be alright.

Suddenly, Harry let go of Niall’s hand and instead put his arm around Niall’s waist, pulling him in a little closer. His other hand found it’s place on Niall’s shoulder, and they found themselves in a prime slowdancing position.

“Harry, what’re you doing, this isn’t exactly the best slow song…” Niall laughed while trying to keep himself in check because _holy shit this was not happening right now. He was not about to slowdance with Harry. Surely this didn’t just happen. Could this happen?_

“Any song is a slow song if you believe, Nialler,” Harry quipped. Harry took Niall’s right hand in his own and raised it to the side, rocking them side to side in an odd, tango-like position for a while, while Niall laughed and sang along. Laughing was one of Niall’s best coping mechanisms for when he was nervous, and this was one of those times. 

Suddenly, Harry pulled his head away from its former resting place on Niall’s shoulder and instead faced him head on. Niall looked up and Harry was already looking at him, staring intensely into his eyes. The now orange and green lights perfectly illuminated his face, leaving shadows to dance across it as the lights flashed, and for a moment Niall felt like they were the only two people there. 

It wasn’t like a rom-com at all, in the sense that there was no moment before the kiss where they lingered, lips millimetres apart. To Niall, it seemed that one moment he wasn’t kissing Harry, and the next, Harry had leaned in and he was. The whole world around them seemed to melt away when their lips collided, gently, tenderly, as Harry kissed Niall, one hand finding the small of his back and the other on his cheek, steadying him. They swayed on the spot, and Niall couldn’t think. He concentrated on kissing Harry back, as his hands found their place at Harry’s hips, squeezing ever so lightly. 

Harry pulled away and leaned forwards to speak into Niall’s ear. The music was even louder now that they were away from the perimeter and closer to the DJ booth, and it seemed to close in on them. 

“Was that okay? I’m so sorry, Niall, I should have asked you first, I’m not quite sure what, why, I...I like you, Niall, and you look so good tonight, not that you don’t look good everyday but especially tonight, and the lights and the music and I just wanted to -”

He was interrupted as Niall steered Harry’s face back so that he could kiss him again. Harry hummed in approval as he smiled into the kiss, and Niall couldn’t help but smile too. Because this was happening, right now. Because it was _Harry_ who had kissed _him_. He now licked Harry’s bottom lip, feeling bolder, and Harry opened his mouth. He tasted like Sprite, mixed with chocolate from dessert, and Niall was so happy his heart was threatening to burst. 

Eventually, after some more dancing (and some more kissing), it was time to leave. 

“Niall, d’you want a lift home?” Harry asked shyly as they were leaving the hotel.

Niall hesitated for a moment. Niall’s house was in the wrong direction to where Harry was headed, and it was already kind of late. But it was drizzling again, and it felt like the air was getting colder by the minute. And he hadn’t quite got enough of kissing Niall yet.

“Actually, let me rephrase that. I’m going to drive you home,” Harry said decisively, noticing that Niall was erring. 

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Niall said apologetically.

“No, it’s not, I’m not letting you walk in this weather, you’ll be an icicle by the time you’re halfway. C’mon then,” Harry smiled as he took hold of Niall’s hand, leading him to the car. 

They drove back to Niall’s, talking quietly over some mellow indie music that Harry had selected. Harry pulled up by the pavement and turned off the ignition.

Neither really knew what to say, or what to do. Things were different now. Not in a bad way, but neither Niall nor Harry had really expected this to happen and they were at a loss for what to do. How to proceed.

“Um,” Harry finally started, never one for awkward silences.

“Um,” Niall replied, laughing lightly. “I guess I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Can I kiss you again?” Harry asked quickly, running over the end of Niall’s sentence.

“Yes, yes of course,” Niall said as he leaned in and unclipped his seatbelt, pulling Harry in closer over the gear shift. He climbed into the passenger’s seat to straddle Niall, and Harry’s tongue quickly found Niall’s. 

Just as Niall was getting into it, pulling gently on Harry’s hair, Harry broke the kiss and instead started planting small kisses down Niall’s neck, all the way to his collarbone. Niall was breathing heavily now, and fumbled a little as he tried to find the lever to recline the seat so that he could get more comfortable. Harry finished his little kisses and moved back to Niall’s lips, fingers running through his hair, pushing his hips into Niall’s just _so_. 

“How - long - have you - wanted to do this for?” Niall asked breathlessly between kisses.

Harry pulled away, lips barely apart. “I’m not really sure,” he admitted, “a while, now,” he finished as he leaned back in for more.

They kissed for what seemed like forever, until Niall caught a glimpse of the clock on the dashboard, showing 00:59. Way past his promised curfew. 

“Harry. Harry, I have to go,” he whispered between pecks, gently disentangling himself from Harry, which was difficult as Harry was still straddling him. 

“Sorry, sorry, yeah I, oh shit yeah it’s late, um, I’m sorry - ouch! Okay,” Harry mumbled as he clambered back into the driver’s seat, smoothing out his suit and checking his hair in the rear-view mirror.

“Right. Um,” Niall said as he opened the door and climbed out. He circled the car and went over to the driver’s side window, which Harry wound open for him - his car was second-hand, and from the early 2000s, so of course it didn’t have electric windows. Niall thought it was endearing, somehow. Romantic. 

“See you,” Niall said as he leaned his head through the window to give Harry one last kiss. 

“See you, Niall,” Harry whispered, “take care, alright?”

Niall walked up to his front door and fished in his pocket for his key. He looked back, and Harry was still there, looking at him, smiling. Niall waved, and Harry waved back before winding the window back up and starting the ignition. 

Niall closed the door behind him and breathed out. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. The house was silent. He found a note on the kitchen table while he was getting a snack (the dancing had made him hungry all over again), written in his father’s neat block capitals. 

_GONE TO BED. HOPE YOU HAD FUN. REMEMBER TO LOCK THE DOOR. - DAD_

He smiled, tucking the note into his pocket as he took a look at himself in the hallway mirror. He was suddenly glad that his father hadn’t waited for him - he definitely had borderline sex-hair, and really didn’t want to have to have that discussion with his father at one in the morning. He climbed the stairs as quietly as possible. 

Just as he was putting on his pyjamas, his phone buzzed. He left it on his bedside table until he had brushed his teeth and gotten into bed, turning the lights out and letting the Jupiter lamp bathe the room in a soothing red glow.

Harry, 01:30AM  
_goodnight niall. thanks for tonite. H x_

Niall, 01:37AM  
_goodnight harry. love you._

Niall hesitated before pressing send on the message. He and Harry had said that they love each other before, of course they had, but somehow it felt more loaded now, considering the events that had taken place. Niall sent it anyway. Because that’s how he felt. And he would tell Harry all about how he felt, some other time. Maybe on a date, if they did decide to date. Niall had an idea. 

Niall, 01:38AM  
_ps what are you up to on monday after football?_

Harry, 01:38AM  
_are you asking me on a date? NIALL!_

Niall, 01:38AM  
_sorry! that was too forward, we dont have to, forget I asked._

Harry, 01:39AM  
_no!!! no i was just surprised. you don’t seem like you’d be the one to ask. to answer your question, i’m free. bakery?_

Niall, 01:39AM  
_bakery sounds great i’ll come pick you up from training yeah?_

Harry, 01:39AM  
_oh niall, you romantic. make sure you bring flowers!! now GOODNIGHT, i’m trying to sleep!!_

Niall, 01:40AM  
_goodnight harry. sweet dreams._

Harry, 01:40AM  
_(ps. i really liked kissing you. maybe more of that on our date?)_

Niall grinned as he turned off his phone and pulled the covers over himself. He was asleep in five minutes flat.


End file.
